David Berube's Hat Trick Leads Pioneers to 6-1 Victory at AIC

David Berube (Quebec City, QC) posted his first career hat trick as the Pioneers defeated American International 6-1 Tuesday night at the Olympia Ice Center. Freshman Steven Legatto (Kelowna, BC) also had a solid game between the pipes making 32 saves. The win puts Sacred Heart's unbeaten streak into double digits as the Pioneers are 8-0-2 in their last 10 games, nine of those against Atlantic Hockey opponents.

Sacred Heart (11-9-4, 9-6-3 AHA) got the game's opening goal late in the first period, despite each team registering at least 15 shots in the frame. Freshman Eric Delong (Oakville, MB) broke the ice with 3:34 remaining as he put SHU up 1-0 with an unassisted goal, his ninth of the season. The Pioneers weren't done in the first as they scored back-to-back goals as Berube lit the lamp just nine seconds after Delong's marker, Matt Gingera (Winnipeg, MB) and Delong earned assists on the play.

American International (3-19-2, 3-15-2 AHA) would cut the deficit in half on a power play goal early in the second period. Freshman Adam Plekasch, AIC's leading scorer, put a puck past Legatto for the only time on the night with assists from Chris Markiewicz and Mike Little. The Pioneers would outshoot the Yellow Jackets 12-10 in the period but the game went into the second intermission with a tight 2-1 score.

The Pioneers wasted little time widening the gap betweenthemselves and AIC in the third period. Berube netted his second goal of the game five minutes into the final period on an unassisted tally of his own. Nick Johnson (Windsor, CT) would make it a three goal affair with just 3:34 remaining in regulation as he scored his AHA leading 19th goal of the season on assists from Gregg Rodriguez (Sunnyvale, CA) and Patrick Knowlton (Colorado Springs, CO), Johnson's 19 goals tie him for the NCAA lead.

But the Pioneers didn't slow down at all as they found the back of the net again ten seconds later to make it a 5-1 game. Rodriguez slotted his first goal of the season with passes from Dave Jarman (Toronto, ON) and Erik Boisvert (Drummondville, QC). Jarman now has 23 assists on the season, which leads the Atlantic Hockey Association. Berube capped off the victory with the third goal of his hat trick with just two seconds remaining in regulation, Gingera and Alex Stuart (Sauk Rapids, MN) assisted on the game's final goal.

Sacred Heart will take the longest unbeaten streak in the nation to the road, but not out of the state this weekend as the Pioneers travel to Storrs, CT for a series with the UConn Huskies. Game time Friday is 7:05 pm and the puck drops at 7:35 pm Saturday.